Japanese Businessmen Worried about Investment Risks from US Tariff Policy

Tokyo – Japanese business leaders have voiced increasingly serious concerns that uncertainty surrounding United States tariff policy will heighten investment risks, following President Donald Trump’s announcement of an additional 15 per cent tariff on goods from all countries and regions.

Yoshinobu Tsutsui, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, stated on Tuesday (24 February) that uncertainty regarding US tariff policy has made the business environment difficult to predict, thereby increasing risk for corporate investment decisions.

On the same Tuesday, Akio Yamaguchi, director of the representative office of the Association of Japanese Corporate Executives, told Kyodo News that companies “have no choice but to wait and see how events develop.” He stressed the necessity for companies to strengthen risk awareness and consider supply chain diversification to reduce potential disruptions.

Several Japanese media outlets reported that US tariff policy has changed drastically, and corporate leaders are struggling to respond to the rapid shifts.

The US Supreme Court on Friday (20 February) the previous week ruled that the comprehensive tariff policy implemented by Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) was unconstitutional. In response to that ruling, Trump announced a new 15 per cent tariff on imported goods from all countries, adding fresh uncertainty to global trade.